Make a film for Sesame Street

We are delighted to be working alongside Sesame Workshop’s Films Department to give New Zealand filmmakers the opportunity to pitch a short film idea for Season 50 of Sesame Street!

Filmmakers are invited to submit one idea for a one minute live action, animated, or mixed media film focused on alphabet letters or numbers, to be featured on the show. The top eight applicants will then pitch their short film idea to Sesame Street’s Film Producer and one of Show Me Shorts’ 2018 National Jury judges, Kim Wright, at a special event hosted by Show Me Shorts.

“Sesame Street is very excited to be given the chance to hear pitches from talented filmmakers from New Zealand, and keeping with our global mission, hopes to expand our pool of international filmmakers by collaborating with new talent on the other side of the world!” – Kim Wright, Sesame Workshop.

Please note: Selected applicants must be available in Auckland, from 1–3pm on Wednesday 10th October, 2018, to attend this event and pitch their idea in person.

How to apply

Create a pitch including your idea and any thoughts on implementation; an itemised budget; a project development timeline; storyboards, illustrations or any relevant images as points of reference; a resource allocation sheet listing key creative and executives expected to be assigned to the project

The deadline for submissions has been extended to 12pm Friday, September 28th, 2018. Selections will be made shortly thereafter.

Please note: We will only be accepting one idea pitch per individual/company, despite what the RFP says.

For more information or any queries regarding this opportunity, please contact Hannah at admin@showmeshorts.co.nz.

About Sesame Workshop

Sesame Workshop creates innovative, engaging content that maximizes the educational power of all media, helping children reach their highest potential. Sesame Workshop is a nonprofit organization of writers, artists, researchers, and educators. Best known for Sesame Street, they create educational content for children from birth through age 12, delivered through a variety of media including television, radio, the internet, film, home video, books, magazines, and community outreach. The Sesame Workshop Films Department is responsible for commissioning all live action/animation/mixed media for air on the domestic show “Sesame Street,” which is then repurposed for the web, the international division, and our home videos.

About Kim Wright

Kim Wright joined the Workshop seven years ago as the Film Producer, commissioning live action, animated, and mixed media short films for Sesame Street. She works closely with the filmmakers and production companies to guide them through the creative process in order to shape the films to best meet the show’s specific letter and thematic needs, while also staying within the films’ budget. She oversees all aspects of creative development of the films and animations, from conception and deal-making, to production and delivery. As a means of finding new filmmakers and animators to partner with, Kim attends various children’s film festivals and media conferences throughout the US and abroad. In April of 2018 Kim received her first Daytime Emmy Award for her role as Film Producer on Sesame Street.